


a mild inconvenience

by pthepolarbear



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hospitals, Near Death Experiences, Oops, PeterMJ - Freeform, Spideychelle, the ffh mid credit scene never happened, this was supposed to be short, you can tell where i got lazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 10:29:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20289973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pthepolarbear/pseuds/pthepolarbear
Summary: It all started as just a mild inconvenience.Seriously. Look, Peter knew that it was kind of fucked up to call someone kidnapping your girlfriend “a mild inconvenience”. And yeah, the first time it had happened, it had been a huge deal. And the second time, and the third time.But as that number climbed into double digits, the both of them started to treat the whole ordeal as old news. Their reactions became less “oh my god my girlfriend/I am in imminent mortal danger”, and more “ah shit, we’re gonna have to reschedule family dinner with May tonight, she’s gonna be pissed.”





	a mild inconvenience

**Author's Note:**

> i hate that summary. i might change it later, who knows. 
> 
> anyway have this! this was supposed to be a short little drabble but it turned into 4k, and i liked it so i figured i would post it. 
> 
> i'm completely ignoring the ffh mid credit scene because i don’t know how the hell to work off of that. 
> 
> this is pretty unedited, so if there are mistakes i’m sorry lmao

It all started as just a mild inconvenience. 

Seriously. Look, Peter knew that it was kind of fucked up to call someone kidnapping your girlfriend “a mild inconvenience”. And yeah, the first time it had happened, it had been a huge deal. And the second time, and the third time. 

But as that number climbed into double digits, the both of them started to treat the whole ordeal as old news. Their reactions became less “oh my god my girlfriend/I am in imminent mortal danger”, and more “ah shit, we’re gonna have to reschedule family dinner with May tonight, she’s gonna be pissed.” 

Of course, as Peter knew from experience, MJ could handle herself. In fact, she’d escaped from a good third of these kidnappings with minimal to no help from Peter. 

This time was no exception.

Peter had MJ secured tightly in one arm as he used the other to quickly swing away from the other not-so-abandoned warehouse located in, of all places, New Jersey. Earlier in the evening, Peter had been notified by Karen that MJ had set off her watch alert, something that Peter had made for her after kidnapping number three to make sure he knew when she was in trouble. She only activated it when she was in real danger, and even though it had gone off often enough that he should be used to it, he felt a surge of panic wash over him as Karen cheerfully gave him coordinates. 

He also couldn’t fight the twinge of annoyance he felt as he quickly donned the spider-man suit. He had been just about to really sit down and start his physics homework, something he’d been procrastinating for the better part of a week and had finally convinced himself to do. Of course whatever (probably animal-themed) villain of the day had chosen to pick right then to interrupt his evening. He shook his head as if to rid the thought entirely, focusing. 

Save girlfriend now, he reminded himself, physics homework later. 

He’d arrived at the warehouse in record time, considering the distance, but as he swung down and surveyed the area he could hear muffled shouting. His heart pounded in his ears- usually in these situations it was around this stage in the rescue Peter really started to fear that something awful had happened. But so far, their track record was pretty clean, minus a few bruises and this one time she’d been drugged (Peter had found her unconscious and feared the worst, but she woke up soon after and it led to some pretty hilarious conversations. Peter still has a video on his phone, even though MJ fought to have it deleted). 

He silently climbed down the side of the warehouse and peered through an open window. his field of vision was limited by mountains of boxes, but Karen informed him that there were six unidentifiable heat signatures, and one that registered as michelle jones. He crawled over to a different window to try and get a better look at the situation. 

As soon as he could see inside more clearly, his heart sank. The six baddies were closely scattered around the large room, and right in the middle sat MJ, tied with rope to a chair. She was facing away from him, and was saying something Karen couldn’t pick up to one of them, a large, burly man who looked very unamused. From what he could tell, at least four of the six baddies were armed. 

“Shit,” Peter whispered to himself. That made things much harder. He couldn’t just go in, guns blazing, because the odds of MJ getting caught in the crossfire was way too high to risk it. 

Suddenly the wall of the warehouse decided to make a very audible creaking noise underneath his feet, one that was way too loud to just be a passing breeze shifting the building in its unsteady foundation. Baddie number three, the one closest to his window, seemed to hear it, her head shooting up and staring in his direction. He just barely flung himself away from the window in time, attaching himself to the wall next to it on his back, breathing heavily. He quietly activated Droney with a simple tap on his chest, who immediately flew into the warehouse to give him a view of what was happening. 

“He’s here.” He watched the feed with a sinking heart as the woman signalled to the others. Droney’s perspective finally gave him a glimpse of MJ’s face, and he was relieved to see hasn’t received any injuries, or at least not any injuries he could identify from twenty feet away. 

Four of the six baddies, at the woman’s command, split up to investigate the four sides of the warehouse, leaving two to keep watch on MJ. 

Perfect, they were spread out. Peter mentally gave himself a pat on the back for his accidental genius moment. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get into the warehouse without being spotted. 

He took a deep breath, preparing for a fight as he stretched a hand out to open the window next to him, before suddenly a commotion made him freeze. Inside, MJ had freed herself from the ropes holding her, them pooling around her feet as she jumped up, holding a rusty old pipe above her head threateningly. 

Surprised, one of the men left around her reached for his gun that had been sitting in his pocket. Before he could reach it, however, MJ hit him over the head with the pipe, causing him to shout a curse and fall to the ground, eyes rolling back into his head. The other baddie was able to reach his gun, but in a perfect kick that Black Widow herself would have been proud of, MJ kicked it out of his hands and it skidded across the floor, away from the fight. 

Peter crashed through the window, all plans of a surprise attack void. He webbed the woman who had noticed him first to a nearby wall before she could even reach her gun and barrelled toward MJ and the man. MJ was swinging the pipe wildly at the man, who was keeping his distance. Peter swung forward, kicking the man in the face and feeling his nose break under his feet. Good. 

Peter webbed the man to the ground. “took you long enough,” MJ told Peter with a sly smile. 

Peter scoffed. “New Jersey. Why, of all places, did they have to choose New Jer-“

Peter cut himself off, flipping backwards as a shot rang out near his head. MJ screamed, falling into a crouch, hands covering her ears. Next to them, a man stood with a gun in his hands, aiming it at the exact place Peter’s head had been mere seconds before. 

Peter flew forward, delivering an undercut that sent the man flying. Two others ran forward, yelling, and Peter swung up to the ceiling. “Love what you’ve done with the place!” 

He dropped down, knocking one of them to the ground. The guy was big, however, and he managed to flip them around so he was on top. Peter flipped them back over pretty easily. “Sorry, but fighting in an old, dank warehouse? Doesn’t do it for me. Chocolates and flowers, maybe, that’s the way to any boy’s heart.”

The man spit in his face when he realized he’d been overpowered. “Classy,” Peter quipped, sarcasm lacing his words. ”Also, I gotta say, you guys, the whole kidnapping thing? Totally unoriginal. You can do better than this, I believe in you guys.”

He webbed the man to the ground, jumping off of him, before freezing in his tracks. In front of him, a woman had MJ in a tight chokehold, a gun pressed to her temple.

“Don’t come any closer!” The woman all but shrieked, gun shaking in her hands. Peter put a hand out to calm her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect, her hold on MJ getting impossibly tighter. “I’m serious, I will shoot her, I’m not playing with you!” 

Peter took a step back. He could feel his legs shaking as he watched MJ start to choke. “Look, you don’t want to do this.”

The woman shook her head frantically, a crazed look in her eye. “You have no IDEA what I want!”

Peter weighed his options. He could web the gun away from the woman, but there was a chance she’d be able to shoot MJ, and he couldn’t take the chance. He could try harder to talk her down, but there was no guarantee that MJ wouldn’t pass out from lack of oxygen in the meantime.

He took a deep breath, about to launch into his “you have so much to live for!” spiel, when MJ bent herself in half, kicking the woman in the leg. Surprised, the woman let go of her, and she fell to the ground, coughing. Peter took the opportunity to fight the woman, knocking her to the ground several feet away from MJ. The gun skidded away. 

He whipped around, immediately going to MJ. She waved a hand at him, getting to her feet. “I’m okay,” she said between coughs, and Peter let out a breath of relief. “Those self-defense classes I made you take don’t seem so bad now,” he said, grinning under the mask. 

MJ shrugged. “They’re actually kinda fun.” 

Peter stepped toward her so his arm wrapped around her waist, lifting his mask up over his mouth and kissing her gently. She leaned into the kiss, before putting both arms around his neck. She pulled away, grumbling as she pulled his mask back down. “Do we have to do this every time? You know I hate it.” 

Peter shrugged. “It’s the fastest way home, and I need to finish some physics homework before tomorrow.” He lifted them up into the air, and MJ buried her face in his neck so she didn’t have to look. 

Suddenly, he swung sharply to the side as his spider-sense screamed at him, and he looked back just in time to see the woman had gotten up and had aimed the gun at them. Shots rang out, MJ whimpering at the noise, and Peter dodged the bullets as the warehouse grew smaller and smaller behind them.

He waited until they were a solid distance away before speaking. “So, what have I said about trying to get yourself out of these situations?”

MJ chuckled. “I got bored.” Her voice was oddly tight, from the swinging, Peter assumed. 

He laughed. “Well it worked, I guess. I don’t have to tell you to be careful, that’s your line.” 

MJ didn’t answer, just buried her head deeper into his shoulder. 

It wasn’t until they reached lower Manhattan when Peter realized she hadn’t spoken as much as she usually did after they had gone through one of these ordeals. Shit, he wondered, was her throat more injured from the chokehold than he’d originally thought? 

He set them down in some random alleyway next to a random building. “MJ?” he asked tentatively, when she didn’t release his neck. He gently pried her off of him, and was met with a pained expression. His eyes widened as her legs gave out beneath her, him catching her by the shoulders. “Shit, MJ, are you okay?”

She gritted her teeth as he set her down against the wall of the alley. “Side,” she mustered out, pain lacing her words. He frantically brought a hand to her left side, moving her jacket so he could see the bright red blood stain slowly spreading from the bullet hole in her torso. 

He could feel his racing heartbeat in every inch of his body, as he reached a shaking hand forward, almost as if to make sure it was real. He barely registered Karen in his ear, telling him that MJ had been shot and that she required immediate medical attention. Karen announced that she had called 911 before he lifted the mask up off of his face, needing to breathe. 

This couldn’t be happening. MJ couldn’t be hurt, she just couldn’t. And yet, there she was, breathing shallowly in and out, face scrunched up in pain. 

Peter shook himself, remembering the little medical training Tony had given him when he’d been sent to the medbay after one too many stabs. He pressed down on her wound with one hand, biting his lip as she screamed in pain. “Peter!”

He shook his head, his eyes full of tears. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I have to do this, I’m sorry!” His voice was shaky from the effort of holding back a sob as she writhed under him. The blood coated his hands, soaking into the suit. He was just glad it was already red. 

He watched as her eyes began to droop. “No no no, MJ, you have to stay awake for me, do you hear me? Michelle!” Her eyes fluttered back open, and he could tell she was fighting every instinct she had to keep his eye contact. 

She gave him a tiny smile despite the pain. “Peter, I-“ A hacking cough that bent her over cut her off. Peter used his other hand to squeeze hers. “What?”

She squeezed his hand back. “I love you, nerd.” 

Tears leaked out of his eyes as a gave a hysterical laugh. “I love you too, MJ.”

She smiled again, before closing her eyes and setting her head back against the wall.

“No no no, stay awake, please, stay awake! MJ!!” He screamed her name, shaking her, but she stayed silent and lifeless. 

“Peter, paramedics are a block away, I would recommend putting your mask on,” Karen told him from inside the mask, and Peter did so, his movements robotic. 

As the paramedics arrived, Peter stepped away from her. He watched, unmoving, as they strapped her to a stretcher and loaded her into the ambulance. 

One of the paramedics tentatively shook his shoulder. He started, his head snapping to face her. She blushed. “Thank you, Spider-Man, we’ll take it from here.” 

That snapped him back to reality. Of course, to them, she wasn’t his girlfriend, she was just another person he had saved. He felt sick as he realized he wouldn’t be able to ride in the ambulance with her. 

He looked at the paramedic, who seemed as though she was expecting some sort of reply. He cleared his throat, doing his best to rid his voice of any trace of tears. “Thank- thank you, ma’am.”

She nodded, before jogging back to the ambulance. Peter watched as the doors shut with a firm slamming noise, and it started to drive away. 

Peter followed it, swinging from rooftop to rooftop as the ambulance shrieked its way through the crowded streets of manhattan. 

“Karen, call May.” His mouth moved before his mind could catch up with it. Karen obliged, and May picked up on the first ring. 

“Hey, honey, great timing, I was just going to call you. Do you and Em want to have dinner here tomorrow night?”

Peter made a strange gasping noise, unable to answer. May’s voice changed completely. “Peter, what’s wrong?” 

Peter felt sick to his stomach. ”It’s MJ, she’s been-“ His voice cracked, and he found himself unable to finish the sentence. 

“She’s been what?” May’s voice was high, filled with fear. Peter scrunched his face up with the effort to answer her. “-shot. She was shot.” 

“Oh my god, honey, where are you?” 

Peter looked around as he swung to the top of a building. “Um,” he couldn’t recognise his own voice, “lower Manhattan, I’m following her- the ambulance.”

May made a noise in the receiver. He could hear the jingling of her keys, and he knew she was already on her way out the door. “Where’s the hospital?” 

Karen helpfully supplied him with the address, and he rattled it off to May, who repeated it back to him. 

“Yeah, that’s- that’s it.”

“Okay, sweetie, I’ll be right there.”

Peter suddenly remembered one more thing. “Could you- could you bring some clothes, too? I’m- I don’t have anything to wear.”

May was silent over the phone for a moment, before she took a deep breath that was audible even from Peter’s side. “Of course I can. I’ll be right there.” 

She hung up, and Peter swung off the building as the ambulance rounded a corner in the distance. 

The next half hour passed by in a blur. May arrived at the hospital about twenty minutes after he had called, having taken a cab, and by that time MJ had already been taken into the emergency room. May had discreetly handed him a pile of his clothes, and he stepped into an empty bathroom in the hospital to change. He washed the blood off of his hands, really, really trying not to think about it. 

When he emerged again, he went to the front desk. The lady smiled up at him. “How can I help you?” 

He cleared his throat. “Uh, my girlfriend, MJ- uh, Michelle Jones, got sh-shot. Can I,” he swallowed, “can I see her?”

The lady bit her lip, pity coating her face. “I’m sorry, son, but only immediate family is allowed to be in the room during intense surgery. You’ll have to stay here in the waiting room.” 

Peter protested. “But- but her parents are out of town and won’t be able to get here and she’ll be all alone and- and I’m her family!”

The lady shook her head, looking apologetic. “It’s hospital policy, son, I can’t help you.” 

Peter stared at her for a moment before he nodded, feeling numb. “Thank you,” he said, his voice sounding miles away, and stepped away from the desk. 

He finally made eye contact with May, who was sitting in one of the chairs. She stood up, tears in her eyes, and ran forward. He met her halfway, and she wrapped him in a tight hug. He hugged her back, everything hitting all at once. He sobbed into her shoulder, wetting it with his tears. She rubbed his back, whispering soothing words, telling him to let it all out. 

Neither of them said it, but they both were thinking about how eerily similar the situation was to one time before. 

Peter finally pulled back, sniffling. May wiped a tear off of his cheek with her thumb. He leaned into her touch, softly speaking. “It’s my fault.” 

May’s eyes widened. “No, no, it’s not.”

Peter shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. I was being careless, I should have been more careful–“

May held him by his shoulders. “Peter. listen to me. This wasn’t your fault.” There was so much force behind her words that it stunned him into falling silent. 

“I just,” he began again, swallowing around the lump in his throat. “I just can’t lose her. Not her too.”

May guided him into a chair, and she sat down in one next to him. He leaned his head on her shoulder, and she ran a hand through his hair, in the way she knew he always liked as a kid. She didn’t seem to have anything to say to that, and he didn’t elaborate, so they sat there in silence, silent tears coating Peter’s face.

They sat there for hours. Distantly, Peter could feel the time passing, but he wasn’t sure if it had been a minute, hour or days. Once he had a thought that maybe he would be hungry for dinner if he wasn’t so numb. But he couldn’t feel anything. 

Finally, a doctor came out of the doorway. “Michelle Jones?” He addressed the waiting room, and May shook Peter from where he had been almost asleep on her shoulder, standing up. He stood too, rubbing at his eyes. “Yes, Doctor?” 

The doctor nodded at them. “First of all, Michelle will live.”

And just like that, Peter could _ feel _. He felt a huge wave of relief wash over him, and he sagged into May, who held out a hand to steady him. The doctor continued. 

“It’s too early to tell whether or not she’ll have any lasting injuries, but from what I can tell, I don’t believe she will. Thanks to Spider-Man, she got here just in time. If he had waited any longer she would be in much worse shape.”

Peter nodded, feeling lightheaded. “Can we see her?” 

The doctor gave Peter a knowing smile. “You must be the boyfriend. She’s sleeping now, but you may see her.” 

Peter shot forward, past the doctor, who looked surprised at his sudden speed. May quickly apologized, following Peter to the room. 

And that is how he found himself an hour or so later, sitting in the chair next to her sleeping form, stroking her hand with his thumb. 

May was asleep in the chair across the room, her head resting on one hand. Peter also could feel his eyes drooping shut, exhaustion finally getting the best of him, before the hand he was holding twitched slightly. 

It was as though he’d been doused with cold water, the way his eyes shot open so fast. “Em?” He whispered softly, squeezing her hand. 

Her eyes fluttered open. Happy tears filled his eyes, and he let out a noise that was half laugh, half sob. “Oh my god, Em, you scared me.”

She found his eyes and gave him a weak smile. “Hey, dork.” 

He brought her hand still clasped in his up to his mouth to give it a light kiss. “I’m so, so sorry, MJ, this was all my fault. If I'd paid more attention, or been more careful, you never would have gotten-“

She shushed him, eyebrows furrowed, and he cut himself off. “Peter, when I became your friend, let alone started dating you, I knew what I was getting myself into.”

Peter bit his lip, protesting. “Yeah, but if you didn’t know me this wouldn’t have happened-“

MJ rolled her eyes. “This could be the drugs or near-death experience talking, and I’m most likely going to deny ever saying this later, but I don’t want to live a life where I didn’t know you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Peter. I don’t want that to change.”

Peter stared at her, his sorrowful expression turning into one of pure adoration and a wobbly smile fought its way onto his face. MJ smiled back. “Loser,” she added a moment later, almost as an afterthought, and Peter laughed. 

“Fuck, I love you, Michelle.”

She grinned. “I love you too.” 

For a moment they both just sat there, dopily smiling at each other, before MJ broke the silence. “So, are you gonna kiss me, or do I just have to wait here unable to move because of my injury?”

“Shit, sorry.” Peter leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, brushing a strand of hair that had fallen over her face up and away. 

Moments later, when Peter pulled away, there was a pointed cough from the other side of the room. Peter looked over to see May looking at them, grinning from ear to ear. 

MJ’s face was red, and Peter was sure his was as well, but when she spoke it was as though nothing had happened. “Hey, May.”

May stood up, moving to the other side of the bed. “Hey baby, I’m so glad you’re alright.” She set a hand on MJ’s cheek, and Peter saw as MJ leaned into it, eyes closing slightly in comfort before opening back up. 

“You didn’t have to come all the way down here just for me,” she began to tell May, but May wouldn’t have it. “Of course I’m here, Em, why wouldn’t I be?”

MJ shrugged slightly, biting her lip. “I mean, it’s not like you’re actually my aunt, so you don’t have to-“

“What are you talking about, honey, of course I do!” May spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “We’re your family.” 

At those words, MJ’s throat began to work as tears filled her eyes. May stroked her cheek, wiping away a stray tear as MJ fought to keep a straight face. 

“Thank you,” she managed, voice tight. Peter squeezed her hand once more as May smiled down at her. 

And, for those few, precious moments, the three of them sat there, the only people in the world that mattered to them. Sure, the circumstances were less than ideal, and things were far from perfect, but to them? It was as perfect as they needed it to be.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter+tumblr is @underrues!


End file.
